We are a bit worried by the unseemly anticipation with which discredited national-level leaders of the political parties are waiting for the king's interim cabinet to fail. "We couldn't hack it, and we won't let you either," seems to be the refrain. Careful there, it may turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That is what puzzled many of us watching the Basantapur meeting from the sidelines: the inability of those who are ostensibly on the side of parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy to cooperate against a militant force bent on a violent overthrow of both. Not only are they not helping each other, they seem determined to drag each other down.

So when Girija Prasad Koirala says it's time to "breathe fire" and Madhav Kumar Nepal says "we'll unleash a typhoon of protest", is it because they have to talk tough now so that they can join an all-party government? Or is the sabre-rattling a protection against more detentions by the CIAA?

Whatever the reason, an all-party national government is what we need to take us out of this crisis. Who knows what kind of give-and-take is going on behind the scenes to make that happen. But do we all have to hang around twiddling our thumbs until it does? Why this sense of suspended animation?

We understand that it takes time for non-political experts thrown suddenly into the decrepit and sad corridors of the ministries to get a handle on things. But it's been 45 days now since the king nominated the first nine members of the new cabinet. What are they waiting for? Let's see some immediate and tangible service delivery. Even if it's just a token gesture to give the people hope: like sending medical teams to abandoned district hospitals, rehabilitating children and orphans displaced by war, some gesture of official concern when VDC buildings are destroyed and schools bombed. Show us a sign that you are there.

The only sign thus far is the sight of officialdom as pro forma guests of honour lighting wicks, launching CDs and giving elaborate speeches that are parodies of Panchayat era news clips. In fact, there should be an immediate moratorium on all such wick lighting, garlanding, speechifying, and talking heads. We've seen and heard it all.